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Wednesday 15 May 2013

Mirror in the Bathroom

So happy to have another room checked off my list.

Although the powder room is the smallest room in the new abode, it was the room that was in the worst condition.  The walls had more lumps and bumps than Tara Reid’s botched boob job. The baseboard that runs along the wall under the sink was in two different pieces and not even adhered to the wall.  The pipes under the sink were covered in rust, the light was tossed into the sink and the utilitarian mirror housed a medicine cabinet more shallow than a Kardashian. 

 
 
 
I didn’t want to spend a lot of money on this room, but I wanted to tackle it before I did any other room because it was the room most worthy of a Cinderella story.  I was the fairy godmother who used items that I had on hand into a ball gown and carriage (OK, total exaggeration, but I did use mostly items that I already had).  So here’s a breakdown of the make over, challenge by challenge.

1.    Window Coverings: Although the windows are unattractive (but being replaced by July according to the management company!), the room is flooded with sunlight, so I didn’t want to cover them completely.  I faced two dilemma’s here – 1. I can’t sew… like, not at all… not even a button, and 2. Because of the window design, I needed a side mounting bracket, which is not the easiest thing to find I have since found out.  The curtains that I bought for the bedroom window required three panels.  Since these curtains are sold in sets of two at IKEA, I had a spare panel left over.  I trimmed the panel to the size of a cafĂ© curtain and I used the fusion tape that comes with most IKEA drapery to hem them to avoid a sewing disaster.  After several failed attempts at side mounting gear to hang the drapery rod, I found these self-adhesive bad boys on Amazon.com and the worked a treat!
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
2.    Walls & baseboard: OK, DAP drywall compound was the actual fairy god mother in this story.  I had a tub of it on hand that I completely used every last drop of on this project, starting on the walls to fill in the lumps & bumps.  Now if you are a home reno enthusiast I strongly recommend viewer discretion at this point, in fact, you may want to stop reading right now.  I realise the proper way to handle the baseboard situation is to remove the board from the entire room and reinstall new.  However, I did some reconstructive surgery that would have made Joan River’s plastic surgeon proud.  I adhered the baseboard to the wall using the drywall compound and then patched the gaps using a layering process.  It took a lot of sanding to make it smooth, and my floors were covered in so much white powder it looked like the bathroom of Studio 54, but the end result was worth the effort.

 

3.    Paint & wallpaper: I love a black & white colour scheme and had been planning on this colour combo for the powder room.  Luckily had loads of Benjamin Moore’s Decorator’s White and Blackberry paint left over from the kitchen make over, so I used it here.  When I moved in the ceiling paint was peeling pretty badly.  I scraped off most of it, but it still looked pretty bad.  I disguised it with textured wall paper and painted it Benjamin Moore Ashley Grey which I had left over from the hallway.  I do love the wall paper – it gives the room a faux tin ceiling look – but I am not thrilled with the paint colour.  The Ashley Grey looks grey in the hallway, but looks beige in this room.   I think I will be painting over it in the near future.
 
 

Before - the peeling paint dilemma

After- all disguised

4.    Bathroom Fixtures – Once I put the light up after painting, I found that I didn’t detest it at all.  Which is a good thing because the electrical outlet is on the lighting base – and as of yet, I am unable to find an old school replacement.  Plus the shallow medicine cabinet is not so bad either – it actually makes a great storage for nail polish.  I spruced up the rusty pipes under the sink with some CLR and some elbow grease and it looks brand spanking new.

5.    Accessories – It is our ability to accessorize that separates us from the animals.  I picked up the white apple for the window sill (to keep with the NYC theme of the room), the shaggy (yeah baby!) mat, the black & white basket and the black wire table as finishing touches.  As for the abstracts, I have to admit that I totally plagiarised these paintings from a picture of a black and white bathroom that I saw on Pinterest.  I bought some plain canvas and replicated the design myself.   Hope that I don’t get sued for intellectual property rights!
 



 


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